Oscars: 2018 Telecast To Air In Earlier Time Slot; First-Look Promo

With 90 days to go until the 90th Oscars are held March 4, 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and ABC have announced a new broadcast time for the ceremony. The telecast will break with tradition of previous years and begin a half hour earlier, at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT. As previously announced, Jimmy Kimmel returns as host with Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd back to produce.

Check out the first promo above (replete with reference to the La La Land/Moonlight snafu of 2017).

The Oscars pre-show will begin at 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT with footage live from the red carpet. The 90-minute special features interviews with nominees, presenters and performers, as well as behind-the-scenes moments from the Dolby Theatre.

This past year’s 89th Oscar ceremony — the first under the Academy’s multi-year deal with longtime network home ABC — drew 32.9 million viewers with a 9.1 rating among adults 18-49, a nine-year low for viewership. No word yet if the shift to earlier in the evening this year portends a longer ceremony.

Along with the U.S. telecast, the Oscars will be aired live in more than 225 countries and territories around the world.